Recipe Challenge

During a recent dinner out with our nephew, Keanu, I came up with an idea. I'm not sure why it came to my head at this time, as there was no correlation to the moment...I just had a random idea. Anyway, back to the point. Marily and I both enjoy cooking. We find it to be fun, exciting and challenging (and most times, quite delicious)! So, I thought...why don't we do a once a month event, where our friends & family can join us in our culinary adventures.

Here's how it would work, our friends & family would submit recipes to us. It could be a recipe that is simply to challenge us, a recipe that sounds delicious but is too intimidating for them to attempt, or even a family recipe they just don't have the time to make but would love to eat. The submitter would be responsible for purchasing any necessary groceries, then we would cook and host the meal. Assuming there are multiple entries, we would randomly draw the winning recipe the week before and all remaining recipes would be automatically entered into the next drawing. The recipe challenge would be held once a month on a Saturday (i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th we'll figure it out later) so nobody has to worry about work.

We think this would be a great idea and is a "win-win" for everyone. We get help picking out new recipes to try and the lucky winner gets to sit back and relax while someone else does the cooking. If the meal turns out to be a disaster due to our preparation and not because the recipe was a train wreck to begin with, then we'll treat the winner to a meal on Cafe Huss...one that's tried and true. So, what say you? Let us know what you think and if there is any interest we'll get this party started!

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Put A Cork In It

Marily's dad had first told us about Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza after he tried it in south Florida during one of his many business trips.  So, in the mood for some pizza and some place new, we headed out Anthony's.

The restaurant is located in the Whole Foods plaza near Sandlake Road and Turkey Lake.  We arrived for a late dinner on Friday night, about 10PM.  There were a few other tables seated, but it was mostly empty (which wasn't too surprising given the hour).  The interior was your basic pizzeria, perhaps scaled up a notch, with a bar along the right side wall.

Intuitively from their name, I assumed the pizza was cooked over coals or in some sort of coal oven.  I'm guessing not everyone figures that out as our waitress immediately warned us that the pizza would come out well done, crispy and with a charcoal bar-b-que like flavor (OK, those weren't her exact words, but you get the jist).  Anyway, it sounded good to us so we continued to place our order.

We started things off with some Orange Blossom Pilsner which is from a Florida based brewery.  It is made with 2.3tsp of orange blossom honey in each bottle (but isn't too sweet)!  It is a nice refreshing beer which we don't find too often.  The bar was stocked with your typical beer selection with a couple Italian imports to fit the style of food, as well as wines.

The menu consisted mainly of pizzas, their coal fired wings with caramelized onions & focaccia bread, and a few sandwiches.  Being a wing guy and curious with the herb seasonings and caramelized onion combination, we went with that for our appetizer and ordered a traditional pizza.  We added pepporoni and italian sausage to half of the pie, in order to give ourselves a baseline.

We both enjoyed the wings which had a great flavor from the herb seasonings, but were really delicious when eaten with the caramelized onions. The flavors and texture from being coal fired was a nice change from your typical deep fried wings at most pizzerias.  The focaccia bread was nice and buttery and disappeared quickly from our plate.

The pizza came out shortly thereafter and was different then we expected.  Instead of the tomato sauce spread over the entire pie, it is simply spooned on in "dobs."  The tomato sauce tasted fresh and wasn't too acidic.  Since it wasn't spread over the entire pie, each bite left you hoping to reach a section of the slice with some sauce (but not in a bad way).  The Italian sausage had a good flavor without being too spicy.

Our waitress provided great service and never let my drink go empty (my primary gauge for servers!).  Overall, we enjoyed Anthony's and would return.

We headed across the street to the Rialto Plaza in search of dessert at Menchies.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late.  Conveniently next store, we found Put A Cork In It and opted for a night cap.  As you might expect, it is a wine bar, selling bottles of wine as well as by the glass.  If you were planning to dine at either Ocean Prime or J. Alexander's located in the Rialto Plaza, they also have an arrangement where you can buy the wine from Put A Cork In It and be served at the restaurants without any corkage fee.  Pretty nice!

As you might expect from a wine bar, the interior was dimly lit, leather seating arranged throughout and music playing softly in the background.  Bottles of wine line one side wall as well as the rear wall and the bar is located in the back corner.  Additionally, there are a couple LCD TVs spread throughout the room, and at least that night, showing ESPN.

Marily order a glass of a Rose Champagne (didn't catch the name), which she thought was nice without being too sweet...

...and I ended up with the number 10 wine of 2008 (per Wine Spectator magazine), the Seghesio Zinfandel.  The Seghesio is a nice, complex red with a spicy finish, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I really enjoyed it after my first glass (a Syrah) was mysteriously knocked over.  The gentleman who was working the wine bar (who we believe was the owner or one of them) graciously gave me a little extra pour to make up for it.

Put A Cork In It has only been open for about a month and has primarily been going off word of mouth advertising.  It is a nice cozy wine bar which we feel has potential to become a nice place to go hang out, enjoy some great wine and have good conversations with friends.  If you are in the area, go check them out and let us know what you think.


7339 W Sand Lake Rd, Ste #412
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 351-8400
http://rialtowinebar.com

Foodies Meeting #2

Today marks the second Foodies Meeting.  I took a backseat in the kitchen and took the role of dish washer & sous chef.  Like any good sous chef, I first poured myself a drink ;-).  OK, it's not the manliest of drinks, but like a chef, I had to make something good out of the ingrediants on hand...in today's case, it was Grey Goose Citron & Cherry 7-Up...mmm, yum.

OK, back to the meeting.  Tonight's menu consisted of the following selections:

Entrée:

Maple Pork Tenderloin with Carmelized Apples (recipe from The Finest Chef website)

Side:

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes (recipe from the For the Love of Cooking blog)

Dessert

S'mores Brownies (recipe courtesy of the Food Network)

Marily has been wanting to cook with fruit ever since my brother's wedding where they had roasted pears in the salad.  So, we had some pork tenderloins on hand and the Maple Pork Tenderloin recipe sounded delicious.  Debbie was craving chocolate and the s'mores brownies recipe caught her attention.  So, there you go...the makings of a wonderful menu!!

Here are some pictures from tonight's prep & cooking...

The Maple Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Apples were A-MAZ-ING! The sweetness of the maple syrup and caramelized apples was complemented perfectly by the rosemary.  The pork tenderloins were cooked perfectly by Head Chef, Marily and our trusty oven probe.  The parmesan roasted potatoes were a great concept and the flavors were almost there...but we'd probably like them to be seasoned a little more and roasted a little longer to give it a nice crispy texture.

"Nom-nom-nom-nom," said Debbie as she dove into the s'mores brownies.  The marshmallow topping was pure yummy gooeyness.  We almost had a major incident as we pulled the brownies from the oven seconds before the marshmallows were to bust into flames!  We should have headed the warnings left by others in the "comments & reviews" section of the recipe on the Food Network's website.   Debbie thought the brownie and graham cracker crust fell flat, but Marily and I thought it was pretty good...perhaps slightly overcooked as the outer edges of the brownie weren't as fudge like as the center.

All in all, the night was a success.  We had some good food and learned a few lessons as we continue our journey to hone our kitchen skills.  Until next time...

A Trip to the BriarPatch

Recently while on a farmer's market Saturday, we strolled down Park Avenue with some friends.  OK, actually, let's be realistic.  Our friend, Sharmila, was actually craving this brie, apple & ham omelette a neighbor had raved about. So, we made our way in search of the BriarPatch Restaurant.  Like many restaurants on Park Avenue, they had outside seating, which we love to see.  I mean, who doesn't like to people watch while scarfing down delicious food?

The outside area has a comfortable, porch like feel to it.  Once through the front doors, you immediately are drawn to the ice cream parlor in the front where they offer ice cream, milk shakes and ridiculously large cakes (more on that later).  We got there around lunch time and it wasn't too busy, so we were seated right away.

Marily ordered the blackened grouper sandwich and I opted for the gorgonzola filet mignon sandwich (and yes, Sharmila got her brie & apple omelette - no ham).

Blackened Grouper Sandwich

Gorgonzola File Mignon Sandwich

Marily was not impressed at all with her blackened grouper.  This is Florida, so I'm not sure how you can go wrong with this choice...well OK, here's how:  bones (the noticeable ones...ones that should have been noticed by the kitchen staff), lack of flavor (didn't we say it was blackened? I mean the definition of blackening is to dredge through herbs and seasonings) and the lack of a condiment (an aioli perhaps...maybe some freshly made tarter sauce...or heck, a dab of mayonnaise would have sufficed).

I had much better luck with my selection.  I honestly didn't know what to expect, since this was under the "burgers" section of the menu.  As you can see in the picture, it was literally a small filet mignon on a bun.  Joining the steak was the gorgonzola, romaine lettuce and a tomato slice.  The filet was properly seasoned and perfectly cooked.  The gorgonzola was amazing and was a wonderful compliment to the protein, offering a nice buttery, salty and bold flavor to the sandwich.  I had to fight Marily off my plate, only allowing her a few bites ;-)  As delicious as it was, I thought there was some room for improvement.  I don't think the romaine lettuce did the filet justice and something more along the lines of a spring greens mix (or just something more gourmet  and able to stand along side the filet would have been a better choice).  Also, the bun was almost english muffin like...while I can't put my finger on what would have been the better fit...I know the one chosen didn't have me screaming that it was a culinary, orchestrated masterpiece.  Neither the bland romaine nor bun was enough for me to deny this was an overall good sandwich, that I would order again.

Unfortunately, we didn't have room to try any of the desserts.  I'm not sure if it was the fact that we had eaten bagels and cinnamon rolls at the farmer's market earlier on top of the sandwiches or if we were just intimidated by the gigantic cakes in the display case:

It looked like the options were red velvet cake, carrot cake and a chocolate layer cake amongst various pies.  Next time, I vow to order a slice of one of these cakes (even if I have to share it with the whole table).

Overall, the BriarPatch was a good restaurant offering good service, good food and some potentially delicious desserts.  We would definitely return for the gorgonzola filet mignon sandwich and find Marily another option!

Marily finally started cooking!

After a few weeks of feeling like I had been knocked down by a cement truck I got the energy and motivation to start cooking again. I figured I would start out by making something light to fit my mood.

As you can recall we purchased specialty pasta during one of our Farmer's Market excursions, I decided to try out the Sun Dried Tomato Fettuccine. After looking online for about an hour for a recipe it dawned on me to go to the website for the pasta maker...who would have thought!! I then found the recipe for Double Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Broccoli and Pecorino Cheese; seemed easy and we had everything we needed in our kitchen. Of course, I decided to change it up a bit and add a few things extra that we love.

To start, I marinated a medium sized petite sirloin in EVOO, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and Worcestershire for about an hour. I then chopped a few cloves of garlic (we LOVE garlic) and a very small onion and set them aside with the sun dried tomatoes.

The only broccoli we had in the house were frozen, so I improvised a little. I cooked the broccoli for half the time it asked on the steam bag and set them aside. I then sautéed the onions and garlic in EVOO until fragrant then added the broccoli. The recipe did not ask for this part but I figured...hey why not! I chopped a few sun dried tomatoes and added them to the mix of garlic, onions and broccoli in the pan, I let that heat for a little on the pan then covered and set it aside while I finished the pasta.

While I was cooking the veggies I had boiled the water for the pasta with some salt. Once the water was at a boil I added the pasta and let it cook for approximately 8 minutes, drained and also set them aside.

I now poured the veggies into a bowl and in the same pan I cooked the veggies I sautéed some more garlic and onions in some EVOO and then added the sirloin to the pan. I cooked the sirloin for 2 mins then flipped it over for another 2 minutes. I then turned the stove off and flipped the sirloin one more time and let it sit for 2 more mins. I then removed it from the pan and let it sit on the cutting board for approx 10 mins to let it rest.

While the meat rested I mixed the pasta and broccoli mixture together, chopped up some fresh basil that we got from our neighbor (Thanks Sharmy and Bill). I also grated some fresh Pecorino Romano cheese, lots of it actually...this cheese is amazing with food, and chopped a few more sun dried tomatoes. I then tossed everything together.

Now, for some reason in our home when it comes to cooking a piece of steak on the pan (even oven) we can't seem to get it right. We love our steaks Medium and at times Medium Rare and we always seem to over cook them. So the pressure was on to make a perfect steak, to show that I have learned from our past mistakes and to prove that I CAN DO THIS!!!!

I let Chris do the honors of slicing the sirloin and after the first slice I rejoiced to myself by saying...."HA!! I AM THE STEAK MASTER!!!!!!!" Seriously, it was all in my head I didn't want to rub it in that I am THAT good.

After my little happy dance in my head it was time to plate the meal. I was very tempted to just eat right out of the bowl because it smelled amazing!!!

Overall, I loved how light the meal was, even with the steak the meal wasn't heavy on your stomach. With all the colors on the plate it was very eye pleasing. However, Chris and I both expected a little more from the pasta...the taste of sun dried tomatoes in the pasta was very faint for me and non existent for Chris. Now this doesn't mean that we will not try another type in the future, especially since we still have 1/2 lb of lemon basil fettuccine.

Bon Appetit!

Foodie's Meeting #1

This past weekend, my aspiring pastry chef, Debbie ;-) suggested we get together with her foodie friend Diane today to make dinner.  Originally she called it a cook off...but I was like "Debbie...we aren't competing...we're just getting together to cook some good food!"  That has led to what I hope becomes a weekly tradition....her newly dubbed "Foodies Meeting."

Marily was sick last week and we didn't get a chance to use the leeks we picked up from the Winter Park farmer's market.  When presented with the task to make the main entree during our inaugural Foodie's Meeting, I immediately looked for recipes I could use our leeks in before they went to waste.  I was clicking through options on Food Network's site before Marily came across the one I ended up going with (read on to see what we chose!).


To get thing started, Marily sliced some fresh pears and gruyère cheese as our first course.  We paired this great combination with the wine I opened for the main dish (Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Sauvignon Blanc, 2007) and also one we picked up specifically for the pear and gruyère (Butterfield Station, Chardonney, 2006).  Both worked well with the flavors of the cheese and the fresh, crispness of the pears.

Diane also roasted some garlic and put together a simple, yet delicious combination of roasted garlic, olive oil and essential seasonings to top the fresh bread her and Debbie picked up from the supermarket. Loved it!!!  How easily we forget to do such simple things like throwing garlic heads with a olive oil drizzle into the oven for things like this!

The entree would be Braised Chicken Breasts on Creamy Leeks (recipe here) on epicurious.com which was adapted from a recipe created by Swiss chef, Frédy Girardet.  We can all read, so I'll just summarize things here...as this was my first time working with leeks, I didn't really make any changes.


This recipe was actually pretty simple (actually some of the best ones are made from fewer ingrediants rather then being overly complex...just see Tom Colicchio's Diet Coke commerical).  I started out by prepping all the ingredients, as it is so much easier to cook when you have your ingredients all measured out:

(I totally forgot to slice the leeks lengthwise before cutting into 1 inch pieces as seen in this picture!  I made up for it later, but just a reminder that I need to actually READ the directions.  Pictured: white wine, leeks, chicken stock, unsalted butter, heavy cream)

(Simply seasoned with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper)

From here, I seared the chicken breasts for a few minutes on each side and then removed them from the saute pan.  Next up, I added the wine to deglaze the pan and introduced the leeks to the party.  

A few minutes later as the leeks were just waking up and sipping the wine, the chicken breasts made there way back to the pan to join the fun.  Shortly thereafter, I removed the chicken, added the heavy cream, and got in the "thick" of things...then it was time to plate.


In the mean time, Debbie and Diane prepared some "Huss" roasted garlic mashed potatoes to accompany the braised chcken, which worked out perfectly.

Braised Chicken on Creamy Leeks with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

The braised chicken was outstanding...the chicken was prepared perfectly (pat on my back, lol) and the creamy sauce was delicious with the leeks (and even with the mashed potatoes, thanks to gravity).  The only thing I could have asked for was a better plate to show this on, lol (mental note, buy nice white plates for pictures).  To top off a great meal, Debbie and Diane made dessert...and a darn good one too!!!

The dessert was based off this recipe found on the Joy of Baking website. Kudos to Debbie and Diane for choosing to glaze the crust with melted chocolate as well as drizzling it with melted chocolate once served....yum, yum, yum (OK, I'm a little biased since I'm a choc-o-holic, but still!)!  The girls did an amazing job at layering the fruit (wow, I think someone needs to become a pastry chef)! Debbie is now officially in charge of desserts going forward.  I highly recommend checking out the Joy of Baking website for further baking inspiration (I already found one I can't wait to try).


We were all very pleased with the outcome tonight, and we can't wait till the next one!!!  Diane, start thinking now...you are in charge of the entree ;-)  Let's see those skills you've picked up!!


Meeting adjourned.

Vietnamese Sweet Pork

When I moved out of my parents house and realized I had to cook for myself (I was not going to be one of those college students living off ramen noodles!), I asked my mom to teach me a few things.  For those that don't know, I'm Vietnamese-American...a product of the Vietnam War (my parents met while my father was stationed there and the rest is history).  I wasn't going to waste any time, so I  asked her to teach me how to make her sweet pork.  This is a relatively simple dish made with products you should be able to find in your local grocery store (of course the best fish and oyster sauces come from an Asian market like Dong A Market off Mills Ave in Orlando.  Below is the recipe, as best as I can share...home cooking isn't exactly measured out ;-)  You know your mom always told you, "...a little of this and a little of that."

This recipe makes enough for 2-3 servings.  Increase the ingredients appropriately for more.

Pork
2 Pork chops, cut meat away from bones and cut into slices, reserve bones (pork riblets work well also)
1 Green onion, chopped
2 Tbs + 1 Tbs granulated sugar
2-3 Tbs Oyster Sauce
Fish Sauce, to taste (a 1/2 Tbs is probably a good place to start)
1/2 cup water

In a sauce pan, heat 2 Tbs granulated sugar on low heat to caramelize (be careful not to burn).  Add sliced pork, bones and chopped green onions to sauce pan.  Increase to medium heat and stir to coat the pork with the caramelized sugar.  Add remaining sugar, oyster sauce, fish sauce and water.  Stir ingredients to mix well and let simmer, until pork is fully cooked (about 15 minutes).

Sautéed Green Beans

Fresh green beans (cut off ends)

Sliced garlic (at least 2-3 cloves...or more!)

Chopped onions (about 1/2 cup)

2 Tbs Olive Oil

Fish sauce, to taste

Water

In a wok or large sauté pan, heat olive oil with sliced garlic and onions on low heat.  Once the aroma is released from the garlic, add green beans and fish sauce.  Toss to coat.  After a couple minutes add some water to the pan and cover with a large lid (pseudo steaming), until the green beans are tender to your liking.

Serve green beans on top of rice, topped with the sweet pork.  Add sauce from sweet pork to wet the rice. If available, add sliced cucumbers.

Dinner at the Huss's April 2009

Wow! As we are getting back into the swing of blog-things, we realized we had this saved as a draft from April 2009...well, better late then never, right?!

Chris and I decided to have dinner for our neighbors to show them how much we appreciate them and everything they have done for us...our wedding in November wouldn't have gone so smoothly without them!

This was going to be our first time cooking a fancy four course meal...the pressure was on, and I think we did an excellent job!  This was our menu:

Appetizer

Toasted Curry Shrimp

Salad

Mixed Spring Greens with a Caesar vinaigrette

Entree

Herb-crusted Prime Rib with a Red Wine Sauce

Firecracker Salmon

Sides

Grilled Whole White Mushrooms brushed with lemon and kosher salt

Sauteed Vegetables

Desserts

Espresso Creme Brulee and Pots de Creme

Here is a picture of our first attempt at creating a tablescape (simple with an Asian influence):

Patio View

We were so busy cooking and hosting the event, we didn't even take our own pictures!  I'm attaching more photos that I received from Sharmila (courtesy of Facebook):

Cocktail Hour ;-)

Chef Chris workin' the grill

Two Chefs in the Kitchen

Bon Appetit!

Preparing the Creme Brulee for service

Marily's Pots de Creme

Chris and I have been blessed with such amazing and wonderful neighbors.  We can not say thank you enough to them for everything they have done...but that certainly won't stop us from trying ;-)

THANK YOU Chuck & Laurie, Sue & Eric, Bill & Sharmila and last but not least, Brian & Elaine

WE LOVE YOU MAN!!!